Evaluation of Zinc and Homocysteine Status in Pregnant Women and Their Association with Pre-eclampsia in Jordan

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is considered a major complication of pregnancy.Hyperhomocyteinemia (H-Hcy) has been proposed to be associated with a number of placenta-mediated diseases, such as PE.Zinc (Zn) is involved in the regulation of total homocysteine (Hcy) levels.A case-control study design was used to examine serum Zn and Hcy statuses, and their association to PE risk.Thirty pregnant women with PE 21∼35 years of age, and 30 matched healthy pregnant women were recruited from Amman, Jordan.Plasma Hcy was measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and Zn was measured using atomic absorption.Hcy levels were significantly higher among women with PE compared with controls (16.35±0.43 and 7.25±0.21mol/L, respectively; P<0.05).However, there was no significant difference in Zn levels between women with PE and controls (65.37±1.27and 63.71±1.24g/dL, respectively; P>0.05).Blood levels of Hcy (mol/L) were positively associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure (=3.54 and =1.81, respectively; P< 0.05), and Zn levels [odds ratios (OR)=0.84;95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.71∼0.98]were significantly associated with PE risk (P<0.05).Although women with PE had significantly higher Hcy levels than controls, H-Hcy was not associated with increased PE risk.However, there was a strong association between severity of hypertension and serum Hcy levels, and serum Zn levels were inversely associated with H-Hcy.The likelihood of PE was significantly higher in women who were Zn deficient compared with healthy controls.To conclude, early management of H-Hcy and associated risk factors may be effective in decreasing the incidence of PE.